Magpies 2023
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One thing I meant to mention last night was when receiving kick offs from halfway the 'Poo had their lock and prop kick reception combinations each on different sides of the field. I had not really taken much notice of whether that is standard practise nowadays or simply something unique to the 'Poo. Must take more notice of that watching senior club rugby on Saturday.
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Brad Weber is heading to Europe at the end of the year, but if he doesn't make the All Blacks, he'll still play for the Magpies, this season.
hbmagpies These goodbyes never get any easier.
You may have seen it already but Brad will be heading to Europe at the end of the 2023 season and we couldn't be happier for him.
Brad has epitomized what it means to be a Magpie, both on and off the field, and always wore the Black and White hoops with pride. We will miss him striking this pose on our shores.
41 Games
102 Points ( 19 Tries, 2 Conversions, 1 Penalty Goal)
Captain for 10 games
Debut 2016 vs Wellington
Whether it be for the Magpies or the All Blacks, Brad will still play until the conclusion of the NZ Rugby year in 2023.
All the best over there Brad and thank you for everything!Thank you, Brad
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Magpies play numbers game in early-season rugby hit-out
New head coach Brock James gave 30 players match-time on Wednesday night.
The next preseason game against Manawatū Evergreens will be on Monday 5 June 2023 in Dannevirke. This may be a double header with a Tui preseason game.There will be preseason games with the more established squad against Auckland and Waikato.
James said he’s unaware yet of any of those players transferring to other teams, such as other NPC unions, but there are many questions over most, including when they may be available to join the wider squad after they are no longer needed by their Super Rugby Pacific or MLR sides.
Unaware? Shouldn't he know who is signed or not?
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@Billsy111 Nope. And I'm getting really impatient. Can't wait for the NPC to start, but the waiting would be a lot easier if the HBRU could give us some good news. After Fakatava's re-signing with the Highlanders, they haven't even confirmed whether he has re-signed with the Magpies as well.
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Question to all you Magpies supporters.
When going through the list of players that are leaving their club in the Japan League One competition, I noticed that Michael Allardice is leaving his club. Of course, it's possible that he's just changing clubs, but if it were possible, would you want him back in the Magpies squad for the 2023 season?
Last year, we lost Cridge. This year, we won't have Bryn Evans and possibly Tom Parsons. The only experienced lock will be IWL, with rookies Frank Lochore and Tiaki Fabish the other remaining options. Sione Tuipulotu is a pretty average player, who's a loosie/lock, too, but I don't even like having him in the squad.
They might bring in Hunter Morrison, who's been training with Canes all season (NDC player), but that's another rookie.
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@Stargazer obviously a Welly supporter but wouldn't Tom Allen be a part of that picture or do you think he's too green?
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@Canes4life He's only in his first year out of school, so I think it's too soon. At least one more year in our Academy, I think.
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@Stargazer did you manage to figure out how tall he is? He seems to be around the 2m mark but looks can be deceiving sometimes.
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@Canes4life No, unfortunately not.
By the way, there's a really tall lock in the Napier Boys' 1st XV squad at the moment: George Prouting. And I mean really tall! His older brother Angus is tall, too (but a bit shorter than George), and played at lock for them until last season. This season, they've moved him to no. 8 and he's easily their best forward, at the moment.
If George becomes just as good, and bulks up, we could have another good option at lock in a few years time.
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@Stargazer good to know, we really need some big, athletic locks in our engine room. Hopefully like Gus Brown, he isn't eventually signed by competing franchises.
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@Canes4life said in Magpies 2023:
@Stargazer good to know, we really need some big, athletic locks in our engine room. Hopefully like Gus Brown, he isn't eventually signed by competing franchises.
Excuse me, this is a Hawkes Bay thread so you using the words "we" and "our" in reference to Hawkes Bay players when discussing a Hawkes Bay team is not tolerated or accepted.
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I'll retreat back to my Wellington Lions thread then and will see you all on the 30th of September when we lock away the Shield for the summer again.
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I consider him as one of our best in the squad at the moment.